Dissecting ‘Lust’

The Hell Caminos talk about their sophomore CD release

IN A city where island music and mainstream hip-hop permeate the soundscape, the Hell Caminos are the lone option for fans of psychobilly, a blend of '50s rockabilly with a dash of late '70s/early '80s punk rock.

'LUST' CD RELEASE PARTY

With the Hell Caminos

Place: Anna Bannana's, 2440 S. Beretania St.

Time: 8:30 p.m. Saturday

Cover: $5; all ages

Call: 946-5190

After forming the band in 2004, Michael Camino and Nick Danger discovered there was an audience for their style of music when their debut, "Through the Day and Through the Night," was released a year later. Since then, the band has changed drummers and added a second guitarist while continuing to push musical boundaries and cement their place within the local scene.

"Lust" is the Hell Caminos' sophomore effort, and the band will celebrate with an all-ages CD release party at Anna Bannana's. The Star-Bulletin sat down with Camino and Danger last week to get their thoughts on each of the 17 tracks on the album.

Michael Camino: That song is about me growing up in Kailua, and how it was really kind of like a dark time in my life. I was pretty much getting into trouble every day, so when I go back, I get this ill kind of feeling.

ND: I wrote this song as a sequel to a song that was on the first album.

Actually, it's got three parts. These three songs are not true, it's just a big long story. It's all about the idea that there was a girl that died, and there was a guy who was searching for her and then he dies.

MC: We try to shock the audience. People remember your show more when you do off-the-wall (stuff). I think that more than musicians, we're entertainers. My favorite thing to do is entertain a crowd.

ND: I think we have two really big influences. One would be that whole '50s style, and we'll go on kicks where all we listen to is old rockabilly. Then we'll be listening to hard-core '80s and '90s punk rock.

MC: It's about Old Snake Road, going out to the North Shore, you know? There's always a bouquet and a cross on the side of the road.

ND: And white owls! Anybody who has driven that road late at night has seen an owl in their headlights. The experience of that drive ... the way the song is, the music and all the lyrics, it really captures that.

ND: This was a song I wrote for my roommate. At the time, he was in a relationship, and he was just a real free-spirited guy. And his girlfriend was like, 'I want you to stop doing this.' She was driving him crazy.

MC: A lot of times when you go out with someone, you're kind of like swallowed by their water. So it's like dirty water, brackish water, and when it recedes ... you see all the filth left over. So when you break up with your girlfriend or boyfriend, you still have their filth on you.

MC: It's another song where I made some mistakes and I wrote the song while I was feeling sorry for myself. It's a metaphor for doing the same (stuff) over and over again and expecting different results.